


Last Moment Of Love

by wolfstarism



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, First War with Voldemort, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, POV James Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28691832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfstarism/pseuds/wolfstarism
Summary: On the night of October 31st 1981, Lily and James share a moment as a family
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 12





	Last Moment Of Love

31st October 1981

“How you feeling?”

James reclined onto the sofa in their cosy living room, one arm under his head. Lily’s head was on his chest, her ginger hair pooled onto his neck. He played with it with his free hand.

“I’m fine,” Lily grinned up at him. James didn’t think he’d ever get used to that smile.

With his wife on his chest and his child sleeping soundly in the room next door, it would seem to be a normal, peaceful evening in Godric’s Hollow. Of course, it was not. The atmosphere was so tense James felt like he could almost reach out and touch it.

“What about you?” Lily asked.

“Yeah, fine.” 

James leaned down and kissed the top of Lily’s head.

“Just a bit.. fed up. You know?” he said, sighing and looking up at the ceiling.

“I know.” Lily sat up, decisively. “But we’re ok. We just have to wait - it’s all we can do.”

“I just feel useless - I want to help -“

“Well you can’t!” she raised her eyebrows, almost teasingly. They’d had this conversation before, many times.

James screwed up his face, trying not to smile. Lily was always so logical, telling the truth no matter what . It was completely mesmerising.

She turned her body so she was lying face down on his chest. She looked him straight in the eye. James couldn’t remember if she’d ever done that without him blushing.

“We’ll be out of here soon,” she said. 

“You think?” James asked.

“I just feel it,” she shrugged.

“Well, whatever you feel, my love,” James grinned.

James didn’t think he was that bored, anyway. He didn’t think he could ever get bored if Lily was in the same room. He could stare at her for hours without ever getting bored.

They lay in silence for a few more minutes. James continued to twirl Lily’s hair between his fingers. It seemed to make her relax, and he wanted nothing more.

James broke the comfortable silence after a little while, though.

“Lils?”

“Yeah?”

“You know Sirius thinks Moony’s the spy.”

Lily didn’t meet his eye.

“I know,” she said, as calm as ever. “You don’t believe him, do you?”

“Course I don’t!” James straightened himself. “Didn’t think it for one second. Remus would never. I just...”

They were both thinking the same thing. Poor Moony. If Sirius believed something was true it usually took a lot to convince him otherwise. James felt a weight in the bottom of his stomach. He could see it now - Sirius being grumpy, distant, quiet and Remus asking no questions, staying out of the way, pushing his thoughts down. Remus took so long to open up to them all, and he had so much to share. Sirius could take that for granted, sometimes.

“Just hope he’s ok,” James rubbed his face.

“I’m sure he will be,” Lily shook her head, “I just hope Sirius isn’t making it difficult or anything.”

“Sirius better be going with him on full moons,” James said. “If he hasn’t, I’ll kill him. You’ll remind me, won’t you?”

Lily laughed.

“Wish I could just talk to him,” she said. “Sirius too - it doesn’t need to be like this. It’s as if Sirius chose to feel this way...”

“Wish I could talk to them too.” James sighed.

He missed them, from the bottom of his heart. He missed all of his friends, each in their own right, but in a weird way, he also missed seeing Remus and Sirius together. He had watched them slowly fall in love. It was the way they understood one another, the way their hands fell into each other’s so effortlessly, the way their eyes met across the room when they thought no one else was watching. James smiled to himself. They were so meant - to - bloody - be it was ridiculous. Ain’t no one like Padfoot and Moony.

Suddenly, they heard a distant cry from the room next door. Harry was awake. 

“Oh!” Lily sprang from James’ chest and made her way towards the door.

James groaned. He hated the bare feeling on his chest whenever she left him. He could feel the spot where she had lain on his chest fill with cool air. He rubbed himself and jumped up quickly, then groaned again at his back ache.

“Oh Lily,” he stammered towards her, feigning illness, “you keep me young.”

“We’re twenty-one, James,” she raised her eyebrows again. Why did she always have to look so perfect? James thought his heart might melt one day, just from looking at her too much. “Plenty of time to grow old later. Come on.” She made her way to Harry’s room, and James followed shortly after.

When he entered the room, he saw Lily was holding Harry tight to her chest, gently swaying him from left to right. Harry was giggling slightly, his tiny hands reaching up, trying to grasp at her hair. James stood in the doorway and just stared. His family. 

Lily was murmuring something to Harry that James couldn’t hear. He didn’t want to interrupt her, she looked so happy grinning down at their child, but she caught his eye and walked towards him. They stood still, Harry between them.

“Dada,” Harry giggled. 

“Look at that,” James reached out a hand and tickled Harry’s belly, “he already sounds just like his dad.”

“What?” Lily said. “You can’t tell already.”

“Oh but I can,” James stared down at Harry, his bright green eyes staring back. They were just like Lily’s. “He’s gunna be just like me. He already had my hair.” James ruffled Harry’s tiny head of hair. "He'll be popular at school - like me of course, and girls will be all over him."

"James," Lily rolled her eyes, "he might end up liking boys, you know."

"Well then," James shrugged, "if that happens, we'll just drop his round for an afternoon chat with his godparents."

"Yeah," Lily smiled, "I think they're a bit more experienced than you."

"Even so, he'll be like me in every other way, even if he does end up liking boys."

“Ugh,” Lily resigned herself to her fate, “wonder if he’ll play Quidditch too.”

“Of course he will!” James almost bounced with excitement. “Look at those hands - he’d make a great seeker!”

Lily broke into a grin.

“We’ll have to build a Quidditch pitch in the garden,” she said.

“No use if there’s only two of us playing,” James elbowed her lightly, teasing her.

“No of course not,” Lily started to bounce Harry again, “we’ll build a whole team!”

James blinked. A whole team? He felt like his heart had skipped a beat. Since he was little it had always been his dream to one day fill a house with little screaming kids running around it. But he’d never talked about it much with Lily. James felt himself go a bit red.

“You want... more kids?” he asked.

Lily recognised his half-excited half-stunned voice.

“Well,” she shrugged, “why not?”

“I love you more every day Lily Potter,” he leaned over Harry, kissing her, but quickly recoiling as Harry’s little fists started hitting him in the chin.

“Lily Evans Potter,” Lily tutted, still grinning from ear to ear. She looked down at Harry. “And look! He’s an attention seeker. Maybe he is more like you than I thought.”

James smiled and shook his head as Lily laid Harry down in his cot. Harry protested, whining and waving his hands like crazy.

“It’s ok Harry,” James stroked his tiny head. “We’ll be right back in the morning.”

Harry reached out and grabbed one of Lily’s loose strands of hair. He yelped with a sense of achievement. 

“He’s definitely a seeker,” James whispered as Lily kissed Harry goodnight. She nudged James slightly in the side for his comment.

They walked out of the room slowly. It was always hard, leaving your baby behind, even if you were just going into the next room. James left the door slightly ajar, so that a sliver of light from the landing illuminated Harry’s crib. He’s there, he’s safe. 

“Goodnight Harry,” James whispered into the room before tip toeing back across the landing. James said that every night, even though Harry definitely had no clue what he was going on about. He’s vowed himself to say it every night as long as he lived.

James slumped back on the sofa, sighing deeply. Lily sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. 

“Wonder what they’re all doing right now,” James said.

“So it’s a ‘missing marauders’ night then, is it?” Lily laughed.

James shrugged.

“Guess so,” he drew Lily closer to her. “I’m just worried. About them, about everyone else out there...”

Lily didn’t rebuke him. She probably felt the same way.

“Think they miss us?” she asked.

“Course they bloody do!” James laughed. “They’ll be in a right state without their dear Prongs and the Mrs.”

Lily slapped him jokingly on the back of the head.

“James,” he rolled her eyes. “I don’t want them to miss us. That’s the point. I want them to be able to cope if... “ she stopped, but James knew what she was about to say.

“Lily,” he pulled her closer still, slightly worriedly. “Lils, I was just joking. They’ll be fine. They’re fine. Seriously.” He kissed her on the cheek and she seemed to relax a bit.

“I feel like we’re just stuck in a loop of the same thoughts over and over again,” she said, sighing.

“You’re right.” James sat up straight. “We need to get our minds onto something else. We need to think like someone else.” He didn’t really know what he was getting at.

“What do you mean?” asked Lily. “You mean... like think what... I don’t know, Sirius would do?”

“Exactly!” James leapt to his feet, pretending that he had meant Lily to come to that conclusion. “What would Padfoot do?”

“I don’t know,” Lily shrugged. “You’re the one who knows him best.”

“Actually,” James said, “I’m not speaking to Padfoot right now.”

“What?” Lily laughed. “You’re not speaking to any of the marauders right now, that’s the point.”

“No,” James waved his hand. “I’m holding a grudge against him. I don’t care that he doesn’t know about it. Not until he apologises to our Moony.”

Lily giggled.

“Ok James, whatever you say,” she also got to her feet. “So, what would Moony do, then?”

James paced the room, his hands on his hips.

“Yes... what would Moony do, that is the question...”

“Oh!” Lily jumped. “I know what Moony would do!”

She steadily hurried toward their old record player, which they kept in the corner of the living room, they barely used it. She flicked through their limited selection. James was hardly surprised when she withdrew their worn-down copy of Ziggy Stardust. Remus had gifted them his old copy when they had to go into hiding.

“Bowie?” James shrugged. He had to agree with Lily. Remus would probably put on Bowie in a time like this.

Lily set the record in place and waited for the music to start. They locked eyes from across the room, both of them grinning. Lily leaped from where she was standing so that she was in James arms in seconds. He held her tight and swung her around. She squealed with delight and James felt lightheaded from her happiness. 

They danced and danced. They were both so filled with energy they couldn’t bring themselves to stop. James also couldn’t take his eyes off of Lily. She was just so beautiful and careless and happy. 

Eventually, James caught Lily in his arms another time, but this time she stayed there, resting on his chest while he swayed them both slowly. He could feel her hot breath on his shoulder and in that moment he wished that it would never end. 

The record came to an end, and they both jumped from the crash they heard downstairs.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @wolfstarism


End file.
